Darlington Women had a great 5-2 away win at Boldon on Sunday in their penultimate game of the season.

Goals from Lily Wilkinson (2), Hattie Raine, Nicole Graham and Aimee Dagnall gave them the victory which guarantees them a top five finish.

Manager Shaun MacKenzie said; “It’s always good to get the points on the road. I thought it was a decent performance and we kept the ball on the floor a lot better than we have in recent weeks. It was great to have Toni Upton back, starting her first game since October and even more pleasing to see her get through over an hour unscathed and building her match sharpness. 

“It was also great to have Aimee Dagnall back, and remarkable that she put a 90 minute shift in, topped off with a goal after 10 months out from the game after pregnancy. It’s good to have a few different players on the scoresheet and score 5 even when our top goalscorer Chloe Ryan wasn’t on the pitch. Chloe had to come off in the first ten minutes after rolling her ankle and we hope it’s nothing too serious, we really have been so unlucky with injuries this season. 

“Today also marked the last games for Alice Wearmouth and Emma Doudican as they are not available for our last game of the season next week. They are both off to University and I would like to thank them both for their service over the past two seasons. I wish them all the best with their studies and good luck in the future.”

Here's the match report from Chris Barrett:

Darlington were more lively from the beginning of this match and were in early on, when the pace of Chloe Bright managed to penetrate the defensive line down the left for a 1 on 1 against the keeper but the shot was dealt with by the keeper.

This seemed to liven up Boldon who got their first effort, when after eight minutes they were free on the edge of the box and smashed a shot which pinged the underside of the bar but it bounced out and was recovered well by Evie Whitaker.

The game then slowed down and Darlington lost their way a bit, they started to struggle with a couple of injuries to key players and a stop, start first quarter of hour. They needed a rousing talk from Leanne Mulligan to get them focused back into the game.

After 19 minutes the ball was played down the left for the run of Nicole Graham who managed to play the ball from wide into Hattie Raine who fired it low past the Boldon keeper to give Darlington the lead. It became a back and forth tie with chances as Raine again broke through but was caught by the defender to smother the shot. Boldon also got a chance at goal but it was well saved by Whitaker.

On the 40 minute mark, it was two for Darlington when the ball was slipped through to Graham who used her pace to get away from the defence before rounding the keeper and slotting it away to double Darlingtons lead. Into first half injury time, Boldon got a goal back when they managed to work the ball down the left and were gifted too much room to get to the by line and pull it back to the 6 yard box where the attacker was there to sweep it into the far corner.

Due to the number of injuries in the first half there was plenty of stoppage time allowing a long range effort from Aimee Dagnall which went just over and also a deep cross from the right by Raine to Graham at the back post for a great take down but the shot was skewed just wide.

The second half started well for Darlington as they got another goal early on with a ball played over to Raine who got it to the 6 yard box to pull it back for Lily Wilkinson who was ready to finish off a swift move to give Darlington a more comfortable lead.

Boldon had a good chance after a free kick was headed out and a shot from distance was fired just over but Darlington were also creating more chances with Graham getting in a couple of times but the keeper did well to keep the ball out.

On 70 minutes it was 4-1 to Darlington as Wilkinson beat the offside trap down the right to run it into the box to lay it off to Dagnall who had time to take a touch and pass it into the corner of the net.

Four minutes later Darlington were too relaxed and it allowed time for Boldon to get into the box and with space fired a shot from a tight angle that snuck in at the near post.

Darlington kept the pressure on and got their reward on the 86th minute when the ball was played through to Raine who played it across into the path of Wilkinson who struck it hard and the keeper couldn’t keep it out. There was time for a final chance when Wilkinson again broke through to go 1v1 against the keeper and great feet managed to get her around the keeper but the ball was poked just wide to miss out on a second half hat-trick.

Darlington finished out the game and it was a strong performance in the end, helped by the return of Dagnall and Captain Toni Upton back starting games again. The player of the match was awarded to Leanne Mulligan (sponsored by Stockton Rugby Club) who was a strong presence at the back and showed good leadership to help the team push through a tough period early on in the game. Darlington have one more game to go and will be looking to finish well in their final game away to Gateshead Rutherford.

Here's the league table

https://fulltime.thefa.com/table.html?league=901345664&selectedSeason=85293540&selectedDivision=371387182&selectedCompetition=0&selectedFixtureGroupKey=1_97264698

We'd like to thank the following kit sponsors

Ellen Atkinson:

Home: LW & GM Atkinsons & Son

Away: Harker Coaches

Evie Whittaker: 

Home: Steve Halliday

Away: Premier One Filtration

Emma Carter:

Home: Direct Flooring 

Away: SMS Tech (Smart Manufacturing Solutions Technology)

Alice Wearmouth:

Home: Direct Flooring 

Away: SMS Tech (Smart Manufacturing Solutions Technology) 

Lou Brown:

Home: Saddington Taylor LTD

Away: vacant

Gabi Paduriaru:

Home: David Stothard

Away: Colin Bromley

Millie Garnett:

Home: Eco Hair Salon

Away: Phil's Fine Finishes

Lily Large:

Home: Arthur Wharton Foundation  

Away: Vacant 

Chloe Tinkler: 

Home: Steve Halliday

Away: Brinkburn Pub

Chloe Bright: 

Home: Jordan Hanratty Personal Training 

Away: Active Kids Play Scheme

Toni Upton

Home: Dawn Fire Safety 

Away: Dawn Fire Safety

Emma Doudican 

Home: Winroths Hairdressing  

Away: Winroths Hairdressing 

Olivia Whitworth

Home: Terry Farley MBE

Away: Vacant 

Aimee Dagnall 

Home: Andrew Scullion

Away: Vacant

Hattie Raine: 

Home: Thomas Watson Auctioneers 

Away: Thomas Watson Auctioneers 

Katie Sheridan: 

Home: Arthur Wharton Foundation 

Away: Ingleton Site Management LTD

Lacey Baldwin: 

Home: Lineside Fencing NE Ltd 

Away: Lineside Fencing NE Ltd 

Chloe Ryan: 

Home: Arthur Wharton Foundation

Away: The Little Quaker Distillery 

Nicole Graham

Home: Stuart Shanks Painting and Decorating

Away: Stuart Shanks Painting and Decorating

Leanne Mulligan:

Home and away: Stockton Town Rugby Club

Management team:

Shaun Mackenzie training kit: John Vickerman

Assistant manager training kit: NC Group LTD

Dan Lupu training kit: Vacant

Chris Barrett training kit: Vacant